Orange Summer
by Go West
Summary: Nico di Angelo learns that he's not going to be spending his summer as he planned.
1. Chapter 1

Nico di Angelo wasn't exactly an emotive person—a trait he'd inherited from his father—but despite his typically immaculate façade of apathy and frigidity, there were some things in this world that even he couldn't avoid reacting to. Horrible things, like the death of his sister. Embarrassing things, like having one of his deepest secrets torn from within him and freely given away to another demigod.

Unequivocally catastrophic things, like his father sending him back to the mortal world for the summer.

"You have to socialize," Hades intoned, not sounding the least bit interested in his own words. "You have to, I don't know, be a normal child. Or something." He glanced to his wife, Demeter, who gave a curt nod to let him know he'd gotten something right.

"Normal child!?" Nico demanded. "Normal child?! I'm a demigod! I'm the son of one of the most powerful Olympians in the universe!"

"I'm not an Olympian," Hades interjected. "But the flattery is still appreciated."

"Nico," Demeter sighed. Her eyes drifted around the throne room in which the three of them were situated, lingering everywhere but on him. Typically, his stepmother went out of her way to avoid talking to him, which was understandable, considering he was living proof of her own husband's infidelity, but today she seemed determined to converse with him, if not make eye contact with him. Baby steps.

"This is for your own good," she insisted. "You spend too much time down here. No living being, neither god nor mortal, was built to withstand such long periods of time in the Underworld. None but your father."

Hades grunted.

"I'm half _him_," Nico reminded her, jabbing an accusatory finger at the Lord of the Dead. "And I happen to prefer the underworld."

The Queen of the harvest's eyes narrowed, though she still wouldn't look directly at Nico. "Maybe that is true, but it isn't good for you."

"Besides, we all know why you prefer it here." Hades turned his cool, dark gaze on his son, sending a shiver down Nico's spine. Was that a disapproving look? What did mean, exactly? What did he know?

"Oh, do we?" Demeter asked, sounding irritated that Hades had just now chosen to join the argument—willfully, at least.

"Sure." Hades straightened a little on his throne, running a hand over his carefully slicked-back hair. "Isn't it obvious? Tell her, Nico."

The son of Hades froze, all of his cocky defiance drying up as he glanced between the two gods before him. The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity, growing heavier with each passing moment. Demeter still refused to look at him, but he could tell her attention was focused on him. Hades arched an eyebrow.

"I—I don't know what you mean." Nico muttered. Was he flushing? He felt like he was flushing. "I don't know why I like it here. Maybe I just have more of you than—than mom in me." Demeter made a displeased sound, and he flinched. "Bianca didn't seem anything like a child of the underworld. Maybe our genetics were unbalanced. Maybe she was mostly mom, and I'm just mostly you."

"That's…not how human genetics work." Hades answered, frowning. "Come on. We both know the real reason."

He turned to his wife then, and Nico ran a hand through his hair, wanting to speak up and stop him from saying…whatever he was about to say. You didn't interrupt gods, though. Not unless you had a death wish.

"He prefers being here," Hades began. "Because everyone up on the surface world is an obnoxious, idiotic, arrogant, self-centered piece of trash, and he knows he's better than them."

"Oh." Nico said. "Oh, okay."

Demeter waved a hand dismissively, a look of agitation on her face. "I'm going to pretend I didn't here any of that. And I'm tired of discussing this."

She truly did turn her gaze on Nico then, and he shivered in response, wishing she had kept passive aggressively ignoring him. Her eyes were dark and filled with power. "Your possessions have already been sent to your cabin. You're not to return to the underworld until _I_—" She cast a challenging look at her husband. "—explicitly give you permission to do so."

"But I can still require you to do missions for me." Hades added.

"No!" Demeter leapt to her feet. Her voice exploded into the room, and Nico flinched. "He needs to be a _normal child_, Hades! He needs to have at least one summer free of death and divine schemes!" Her eyes flickered to him. "At least, inasmuch as a child of yours can."

"That's not possible." Nico sighed. "Please, your majesty, just let me stay here. I promise, I'll stay out of your way. I'll—"

"No." Demeter turned to him, and beside her, Hades sighed and sunk into his throne. "You will leave, and you will not return or have any contact with your father at least for the summer. Longer, if you don't behave."

Nico opened his mouth to argue again, but Demeter interrupted. "Enough. We are done here."

With that, she snapped her fingers, and the son of Hades disappeared.

Shadow travel was one thing. It always exhausted Nico, but at least he was familiar enough with the sensation by now that he knew what to expect. Plus, he was the son of Hades. He was built for it.

Divine teleportation was an entirely different thing. It happened much more quickly, and while it didn't really require any effort or concentration on Nico's part, it did hurt. _A lot_. The world exploded around him, flashing colors, blurred shadows, and blinding lights rushing by as the everything fell apart and reassembled itself around him. He hadn't even managed a gasp of surprise before he felt himself thrust back into the mortal world, and as soon as his body felt whole again, he collapsed.

The first thing he noted was the feel of the sun on his skin. It was warm. Warmer than anything that existed in the underworld. Even the light of Elysium couldn't compare to this—the natural glow of the sun, filtered and softened by the trees overhead.

The second thing he noticed was the feel and smell of the Earth beneath him. The underworld either smelled of nothing or of rotting flesh. Though he supposed it was technically a part of the Earth, it lacked that fresh, natural smell that Nico suddenly couldn't seem to get enough of.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and tipping his head back to let the sun caress his face. He wasn't sure where Demeter had sent him, but for that one moment, he didn't really care. He was warm. He was safe. Everything around him was quiet and peaceful, and—

"Nico?"

Nico's eyes snapped open, tension racing into his muscles as he spun around and jumped to his feet. He realized, as his senses returned to him, that he'd been wrong earlier. This place wasn't quiet. Far off in the distance, he could hear the sound of young, delighted squeals and swords clashing. There was also a deep rumble that, unfortunately, was all to familiar.

"Oh my god, Nico!" A form shimmered into existence a mere ten feet from him. "You're alive! You're _here_!"

Before Nico—still stunned from the sickening feel of the teleportation—could even react, Annabeth Chase threw herself forward, wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him a crushing hug.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Demeter sent you."

Dionysus couldn't have looked less pleased to have the son of Hades back at Camp Half-Blood, but Nico figured that was more a result of his usual, bad attitude than his own presence. He'd learned a long time ago not to take anything Dionysus said or did personally, even though the old man often intended things to be.

"Yes." He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "She said I needed to be a 'normal child' for a summer."

"That is odd," Chiron admitted. He'd been the first one, besides Annabeth, to learn of Nico's presence, and that was because Annabeth had dragged him directly to the old centaur, much to his annoyance. She sat at the table with Mr. D now, a fan of cards in her hand, though she was clearly more focused on the new arrival than the game she was playing.

"Demeter does not usually take kindly to Hades' children," Chiron continued. "That you piqued her interested at all is interesting, but to think she would go to such great lengths, that she would stand against her own husband's wishes, supposedly for your well being…." The activity director trailed off, shaking his head as he thought. "That is indeed very strange."

"Not that we're not thrilled to have you." Annabeth amended. Mr. D shot her a dark look.

"Of course, of course." Chiron agreed, smiling up at the boy from his wheelchair. "Forgive me. I just love a good mystery. We are delighted to have the son of Hades back at camp. Your cabin has been kept clean, as a sign of respect to your father, and I can have it ready for you by this evening."

Nico crossed his arms and leaned against the Big House's wall. They were all seated inside the parlor—a large room lined with windows that looked out over the sprawling camp below them. "You don't need to wonder so much about _her majesty's _motivations," he muttered. "She didn't actually do this for my own good; she did it because she's tired of having me around."

So much for trying to conceal his bitterness.

Chiron arched an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be so sure, Mr. di Angelo. Demeter may not enjoy the memories of her husband's past transgressions that your presence elicits, but I doubt she would take her frustrations out on you directly."

"Oh yeah, because the gods are so reasonable and merciful, right?"

"Hey." Mr. D barked. Everyone turned to look at him as he took a long swig from his diet coke. He crushed the can on the table when he was done and belched. "Someone bring me another soda."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Maybe she's punishing your father, Nico. After all, didn't you say you were running errands and doing work for him? Maybe he enjoyed having you around, and her sending you away is her way of—"

The front door to the house burst open.

"Annabeth? Annabeth, where are you?"

Nico suppressed a moan and tried to blend in with the shadows around him. That voice. He recognized that voice.

He really did not want to see the owner of that voice.

"We're in here, Percy!" Annabeth called back. Mr. D muttered something uncomplimentary and took another swig from a new diet coke that had apparently been conjured from thin air.

A few seconds later, Percy Jackson himself burst into the room. He wore a bright orange, Camp Half-Blood sweatshirt, just like the last time Nico had seen him, and a set of worn jeans. His black hair wasn't nearly as long as it had been back in Italy, but it wasn't short either. Had he actually attempted to brush it, for once?

"Where is he?" Percy gasped. "Someone said—they said you sent for me. They said Nico was back."

"He is." Annabeth answered, hiding a smile. She gestured over to where Nico stood, perfectly still, willing the Earth to absorb him and drag him back into the underworld.

Percy's eyes flickered over him at first, but a second later they seemed to find him. They were just as amazing as Nico remembered—a deep, rich green. The color of the sea.

"Nico!" He smiled and took a few steps forward, but something—maybe the look on Nico's face, maybe the aura radiating off him—stopped the son of Poseidon dead in his tracks. Annabeth had taken him by surprise, but he was over the teleportation-induced dizziness now. He wasn't interested in anymore surprise hugging.

"Uh," Percy shook his head. "I—I'm glad you're back." A smile flickered back to life on his tanned face. "It's been too long, man. Where have you been?"

"Better places." Nico answered. "And I intend to go back as soon as possible."

"Hmm." Chiron murmured. "You might want to watch your words, Mr. di Angelo. From what you've told us, it sounds like Demeter is genuinely invested in giving you a few months of what she perceives as a normal life. If you spend the entire summer just waiting to go back, she may extend your banishment even further."

"Banishment?" Percy repeated, glancing between the two. "Demeter? I don't—"

"My father won't let her keep me away for too long," Nico insisted, though he didn't feel confident that that was true. If there was one person in the world capable of lording their power over the king of the underworld, it was Demeter, and Chiron was right. She seemed pretty dedicated to this twisted idea.

"How about," Annabeth suggested, rising from her chair and setting down her cards. "Percy and I take Nico on a tour of the camp?" She smiled at him. "A few things have changed since you were last here. The Romans have had quite the influence on us."

"Yeah." Percy agreed, wearing a smile of his own, though Nico could still see a mix of confusion and curiosity in his eyes. "Besides, now that you're back, maybe Hazel and Leo can come and visit!"

Nico stared at him, momentarily forgetting his supposed hatred for the kid. "Frank Zhang? Why would he be with Hazel?"

"Didn't you stay in touch with your sister at all this last year?" Annabeth laughed. "They're dating. Practically inseparable now!"

Nico continued to stare, unsure of how to respond to this news. Admittedly, he hadn't stayed in touch with Hazel, and he felt guilty about that. He'd just been too busy, and honestly, he'd grown tired of rejecting her pleas for him to come and visit every time they talked. She seemed more determined than Demeter to get him out of the underworld.

But she didn't have the divine ability to snap her fingers and send him away, so yeah, now seemed like as good a time to catch up as any. Maybe he'd even lie and make it sound like he'd come here willingly.

"Let's go." Percy said, turning on his heel and marching out the door. Annabeth started to follow him when Mr. D barked her name.

"Ms. Chase! Since when is it proper manners to abandon a game in the middle of a hand?" His eyes narrowed. "Especially a hand you're about to lose!"

Nico resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Nothing could entice the daughter of Athena into staying better than a thinly veiled challenge, and especially with a game like pinochle, he knew she couldn't just walk away.

"I'll join you two later," She said, giving Nico a wink. "Go catch up with Percy. He's…." She cocked her head to the side, a strange expression coming over her face. "He's missed you."

Nico really would've rather do anything else in the world just then than go on a tour of Camp-Half Blood alone with Percy Jackson, but the looks Chiron and Mr. D were giving him made him think he had no choice. Stupid Olympians. They were really beginning to get on his nerves.

With a martyred sigh, he pushed off the wall and stalked out onto the porch, where Percy was waiting for him with an eager smile.

"Where's Annabeth?"

"She has a game to finish with Dionysus." Nico answered. "How about we just postpone the tour until she's done?" _Or forever?_

"Nah, that's alright." Percy shrugged it off and turned, leaping off the porch with an easy grace. "Come on! She'll catch up later!"

He started walking away before Nico could protest. Briefly, he considered mutiny. What could Percy really do if he just left and hunkered down in his cabin? Demigods weren't technically allowed in one another's bunks, and Hades in particular was known for having a bad attitude about such things.

_I'll never hear the end of it from Chiron, though, _Nico thought. _Besides, he'll just keep pestering me. I might as well get it over with now, right? Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe it'll be short. Maybe it'll distract me from how utterly miserable this entire situation is._

"Nico?" Percy called. "Are you coming?"

With a sigh, the son of Hades trotted down the front porch steps of the Big House. The sun was beginning its descent, but the entire camp still hummed with activity—activity that grated on all of Nico's senses simultaneously. He wanted nothing more than to go home, to the underworld. He wanted to hide from his problems, from the questions and unwanted desires that were already beginning to tug at his consciousness.

But he couldn't do that, so instead, he set off after the son of Poseidon—the one and only boy he'd ever loved.


	3. Chapter 3

Annabeth caught up to Percy later that night on his way to dinner. She was leading the Athena cabin up to the pavilion but passed the reigns off to one of her siblings so she could fall into step beside the son of Poseidon.

"So, how'd things go?" She asked cheerfully. "Was he impressed? Was he shocked? Did you guys talk? Did he tell you why Persephone sent him here? Did—"

"Nothing happened." Percy interrupted. He spoke softly, but there was an undertone of disappointment in his words, one that would likely have been missed by anyone but Annabeth.

"What do you mean?" She laughed. "You guys were gone for two hours!"

Percy shrugged. "It's a big camp. He seemed content enough to finish the tour, but after that, he just went back to his cabin. I think he hardly spoke two sentences the whole time."

Annabeth's smile fell. "Oh."

"He told me he's skipping dinner too." Percy sighed.

"That's against the rules."

"I know. I tried to stop him, but…." Percy suppressed a shiver, recalling the borderline murderous look Nico di Angelo had given him upon being reminded that meals were a required camp activity. "I didn't feel like pushing him."

Annabeth frowned. "They're not going to let him slide under the radar forever. Better you whip him into shape than Mr. D."

"He wouldn't risk upsetting Persephone by ruining Nico's 'perfect summer.'"

"I wouldn't be so sure."

The two walked in silence for a minute. From the look on Annabeth's face, it was clear she was trying to figure out a plan—some way to turn Nico into the happy camper Persephone had sent him here to be. For his part, Percy was fairly convinced that that was never going to happen, but he wasn't going to interrupt her scheming.

Instead, he spent the walk replaying his afternoon with the son of Hades. He'd done his best to be an entertaining and engaging tour guide, but Nico's cold, distant exterior had never melted. Not even a little.

In a way, it was better than Nico always being mad at him…and in another way, it was worse. At least when he was angry he'd yell at Percy, or summon undead armies to destroy him. That was interaction, at least on some level. Now, all he got was silence and maybe a dry look of impatience every once and a while.

He'd thought for sure the school buildings would elicit some sort of response. There were four of them, each as massive and sprawling as regular, mortal schools. The middle school was finished yet, as it was the biggest, but the lower and upper schools were, and the first of what would hopefully be several college buildings was already open. Almost all of them were staffed by demigod adults raised and educated back in Camp Jupiter—yet another testament to the newly formed friendship between the two camps.

Nico hadn't blinked an eye upon seeing them for the first time, though. Even when he got to go inside and see everything for himself, to interact with some of the teachers, who were thrilled—rather than horrified—to meet a son of "Pluto," he hadn't responded. It was like he was playing some extreme version of the quiet game.

So, Percy had pulled out the big guns.

"Part of our collaboration with Camp Jupiter has been a magic, underground passageway that safely connects the two camps," he'd explained. "It was built using material and schematics similar to the stuff Annabeth got off Daedalus' laptop. It still takes an entire day to walk, but we've been working on sprucing it up. You know, art work. Rest stops. Lighting."

Nico had continued to ghost silently along, neither looking at him nor acknowledging that he'd said anything.

"Chiron doesn't want you traveling to Camp Jupiter until we confirm that it's okay with Persephone," he'd continued. "But, if you wanted, we could call Hazel later tonight. If she knew you were here, she'd be over by sunrise, I guarantee it. She, uh, she's missed you."

He'd known those words would garner _some _sort of reaction, and they had. It just wasn't the excitement that he'd hoped for. Instead, the son of Hades had stiffened, like Percy had punched him, and cast a dark look over his shoulder before stalking forward with an even colder aura radiating off of him. Apparently, the topic of Hazel Levesque, Nico's half-sister, was not a welcome one.

"There's got to be something he enjoys," Annabeth sighed, bringing Percy back to the present. They'd almost reached the pavilion now, and the dull thrum of hundreds of demigod voices was making it harder to talk.

Percy almost laughed at her words. "If there is such a thing, I don't know about it, but I admire your optimism."

"He likes animals," Annabeth insisted. "Maybe you could take him to see the horses."

"I don't think so. The horses hate him."

She frowned. "Maybe take him on a canoeing trip?"

"I don't know that he likes water." _Or that he'd agree to be alone with me for that long._

"Go sword fighting?" Annabeth cocked her head to the side. "You both like sword fighting."

That much was true, but just as Percy tried to conjure up an image of the two of them prancing around the arena with wooden practice swords—no one was ready to fight Nico with his real, Stygian iron sword—his conversation with Annabeth was abruptly interrupted.

First, it the shrieks and yelps of the demigods behind them. Then, it was excited, confused murmuring. Then, it was laughter and jeering.

Percy and Annabeth both turned, Annabeth's eyes flickering nervously towards her cabin mates, when the source of the commotion became clear. Chiron was prancing up the hill towards the pavilion in full horse form, forcing campers to leap out of the way, lest they be trampled.

"Chiron?" Annabeth exclaimed. "Chiron's never late to dinner."

The camp's activity director trotted up to them with an all-too-pleasant smile on his face. It became clear, once he was closer, that he wasn't alone. There was something—no, _someone_—on his back.

Annabeth noticed it before Percy did. Her eyes widened, she grabbed his arm, and then she muttered what was probably the only word capable of cheering Percy up in that moment.

"Nico!?"

Percy straightened up as Chiron turned to the side, giving them both a clear view of Nico di Angelo, was sitting atop Chiron's back with his wrists bound and a piece of tape over his mouth. He was struggling to wiggle free of his restraints, so much so that Percy felt surprised he hadn't fallen to the ground already.

"Hello Annabeth, Percy." Chiron nodded to both of them and then gestured to Nico. "It seems Mr. di Angelo here was under the misconception that dinner was an optional camp activity. I decided to give him a ride so he wouldn't be late."

Percy was about to ask was bound and gagged, but Annabeth cut him off.

"That's so kind of you," she said, though her eyes were still wide and she was clearly still shocked to see them both. "Um, might I suggest you let us take him from here? It might cause a commotion if you ride into the pavilion with a—well, like this."

Chiron's eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. "Why, Annabeth, that is an _excellent _idea!" He turned his head just slightly and barked a word in Ancient Greece—a word Percy recognized as "release."

Immediately, Nico began to slide sideways. Percy realized he was going to fall a second before he did and lunged forward—eliciting a surprised yelp from Annabeth—to catch him.

If the son of Hades had seemed unhappy on his tour with Percy, he seemed downright murderous in his arms. Percy caught him easily and lower them both to the ground. As soon as Nico was safe, he let go and slid back a few inches.

The wrap around his wrists and the tape—duct tape?—on his face evaporated after a moment, and Percy tensed, anticipating that he would take off running. Or worse, open a crack in the Earth to distract them all and _then _take off running.

To his surprise though, Nico merely stood and brushed himself off, flashing Chiron a glare. "_That_," he snapped. "Was unnecessary."

Chiron shrugged, still smiling. "Oh well. We cannot change the past, nor should we dwell on it." He turned to Annabeth. "Ms. Chase, would you accompany me to the pavilion?"

Annabeth cast a nervous look back at Percy and Nico before nodding and turning to follow Chiron as he trotted forward. It didn't take long for the two to lapse into conversation, and Percy had a strong suspicion that he knew what it was about.

"You really weren't kidding about dinner being mandatory."

Percy turned. Nico was glaring at Chiron's retreating figure, but he showed no signs of preparing to bolt. He probably figured he wouldn't make it far. Most of the younger campers had already been herded into the pavilion, and now it was just senior campers. Counselors. People who knew Nico di Angelo—if only through stories—and would leap into action the moment he did anything suspicious.

Their tension was obvious in the way they parted around the two, their eyes tracking Nico suspiciously as they moved. For his part, he seemed mostly unaware of them. He was focused on Percy again.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Percy blinked and shook his head, trying to clear his face of whatever expression was on it. "I, uh, I'm just surprised."

Nico arched one eyebrow.

"That you're talking to me."

"Oh." Nico frowned and continued watching him for a moment. Then, as if he hadn't spoken, Nico pushed past him and continued on his way towards the pavilion.

Percy turned a second later and fell into step beside him. "I'm sorry about Chiron," he said, eager to take advantage of this apparent, conversational attitude. "It's just that for once we're not a war, so he likes to mess with us to keep us on our toes."

Nico made a sound that Percy interrupted as disapproval, but it was better than silence.

"I do think he went a little overboard, for what it's worth," he offered.

"You think?"

Percy beamed. "Yeah, totally. But you know, it's only going to get worse."

Nico stopped walking, turning to look at Percy with ever-so-slightly widened eyes. "What do you mean?"

Percy tried to contain his excitement. This was their first conversation in years that hadn't contained undertones of murderous hatred, shouting, or skeletal armies erupting from the ground to kill Percy.

Annabeth's words echoed through his head: _They're not going to let him slip under the radar forever. Better you whip him into shape than Mr. D._

Nico was still watching him. He tried to act casually, shrugging and turning to look into the pavilion where everyone else was now seated. "I just mean that he's not going to let you fly under the radar while you're here. Neither is Mr. D., for that matter, but for your sake, I hope Chiron keeps him out of it for as long as possible." He flashed Nico a smile. "He's not terribly fond of you."

The son of Hades' eyes flared. "Not that you're one to talk. Anyway, he has no reason to hate me. Maybe he's just jealous that a demigod is more powerful than him. Maybe he's jealous that my father controls an entire sect of the Earth while he's the god of _grapes._"

"Wine." Percy corrected, trying his best not to laugh. He took some small pleasure in teasing Nico, but more than that, he was ecstatic to be having a proper conversation.

"Whatever." Nico crossed his arms. "I haven't done anything to him, and for the record, I'm not scared of Chiron."

Percy shrugged again, crossing his arms in a looser, more casual imitation of Nico's stance. "Maybe you're not, but _he's _afraid of Persephone, and he's not going to risk incurring her wrath by letting you sulk in your cabin all summer."

Nico looked momentarily surprised. "How do you—wait, no." Instantly, his face darkened. "I get it. Annabeth told you, didn't she?"

"That Persephone sent you here to have the perfect summer as a 'normal' child? Yeah." He met the younger demigod's eyes and lowered his voice. "I didn't think you'd come here willingly."

"No." Nico stepped back away from him, his face still clouded with dark emotions—emotions Percy wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve. "But it doesn't matter. Persephone's not my mother, and Chiron's certainly not my father. The two of them can collude and scheme all they want, but this place will never be my home." Percy flinched. "And I'll never be a normal kid."

"That's not true." Percy stepped forward, trying to close the sudden distance between them. "You can have fun here, Nico. It's not a prison."

"It is to me." The son of Hades turned and started walking towards the pavilion again.

"Nico—"

Percy reached out, intending to…to what? To grab him? To stop him? His hand was only a few inches away from making contact when Nico shuddered and leapt away from him faster than his own eyes could follow. The two stared at each other for a long moment, both of them frozen, before Nico grimaced—anger flashing through his dark eyes—and turned on his heel, away from Percy.

The son of Hades disappeared easily into the crowd of demigods, and though Percy knew it'd be easy enough to find him—the only one at Hades' table—he didn't bother. Tyson, back for the summer, was waiting for him at Poseidon's table, and anyway, it wasn't like anything Percy could say would get through to Nico now.


	4. Chapter 4

Dinner was torture.

Nico sat alone at his table, trying his best to ignore the stares and whispers aimed at him not only by other campers, but by Chiron and Mr. D themselves. The former seemed to be studying him, like he was genuinely interested in why Nico was here and how best he should handle his "regrettable attitude." Mr. D, on the other hand, looked like he was vacillating between apathy and a barely-there distaste for the demigod—like he couldn't decide which he felt more keenly but couldn't be bothered to figure it out.

The meal passed slowly, each second dragging along as Nico mashed and pushed his food around with his fork. The magical plates hadn't known what to give him. He didn't have a favorite meal, and he wasn't fond of food, in general, so they'd presented him with beans, rice, and water. That had earned a strange look from several campers _and _Chiron.

Not that Nico cared. He had no intention of eating it anyway. Most of it went into the fire at the center of the room, though he wasn't sure who he was offering it to anymore. His father? Could he even hear his son's prayers at this point, or was Persephone screening them? Should he pray to her? Maybe he could convince her to send him somewhere else. Anywhere else. Camp Jupiter. A mortal summer camp. Disneyland.

In the end, he decided that was pointless. He sighed as he scraped most of the food off his plate, offering a small, genuine smile to the little, vaguely humanoid form that flickered through the flames. "For you, Lady Hestia. I guess…. I guess I don't have anything I want to ask you for; I just hope you have a better summer than I'm about to."

He didn't wait around to see if she responded. He had a fondness and respect for Hestia, and he trusted that even if she didn't acknowledge the offering, she'd received it, and she was grateful.

Eventually, mercifully, dinner ended, and the entire pavilion began their march down to the sing-along. Chiron appeared beside Nico as he walked, perhaps trying to surprise him, but Nico had been expecting it after their earlier confrontation.

"It really is unfortunate that you do not think of this as your home," He'd sighed while standing just outside the doorway of Nico's cabin. "We would love to have you here more often, and I think if you allowed yourself, you would find you actually enjoyed some of our activities."

Nico had shrugged him off, politely declining the following invitation to dinner. He'd known it wasn't actually an invitation, and even when Chiron had pressed him, he'd continued to refuse.

"I cannot allow you to begin your summer here by bending the rules," Chiron had informed him. "You put me in an awkward situation."

Awkward was a good word for it. Nico was used to a stern but largely gentle and patient activity director, but the centaur he'd briefly gone head to head with before being bound, gagged, and carried off to dinner against his will was none of those things.

Standing beside him now, Nico could see a small twinkle in the old man's eye that suggested he wasn't afraid to show that side again. He really didn't intend to let Nico sleep away this summer in isolation.

Nico sighed.

"Why so glum, friend?"

He jumped, stepping back from the form that seemed to materialize beside him. His hand twitched towards the place he usually kept his sword, only to find an empty sheath. Of course. Persephone.

Annabeth smiled, clearly amused, and started shoving her magical, invisibility-granting baseball cap into her back pocket. Nico glared.

"I thought you lost that during your little underground quest," he snapped.

She shrugged, still smiling. "My mom got it back for me. Or maybe this is a new one. Either way, she figured it was an appropriate way to thank me for finally retrieving that statue."

Nico ground his teeth together, turned away from her, and kept walking. Chiron and Annabeth flanked him, following just a little too closely for comfort.

He'd always hated that hat. After all, who was Athena to give the gift of invisibility? Hades was the owner of the Helm of Darkness, the ultimate invisibility device, yet had he ever given Nico anything like that baseball cap? No. Had he given Nico anything, ever? Technically, yes, but it never seemed to be as a thanks or a sign of genuine affection, like Athena's gift was. Even Poseidon had given Percy a fountain, _and _he visited the kid regularly. He was one the "Big Three;" what excuse did Hades have for being so absent in Nico's life?

"Got any requests for the sing along tonight?" Annabeth asked.

Nico shot her a glare.

"No really, they Apollo cabin is taking requests now. It can get a little weird but it's always fun."

The son of Hades turned his gaze towards a thus-far silent Chiron. "Is the sing along another 'mandatory camp activity'?"

"If it weren't the sing along, it'd be something else," Chiron answered cheerfully. "Chores, maybe. Is that preferable?"

Nico brightened a little. "Are you offering?"

Chiron frowned.

"Come on, Nico. Even you can't be that anti-social."

Nico flinched, and Annabeth smiled as Percy fell into step beside them.

"Oh great," Nico muttered. "The security team felt incomplete without you. So glad you deigned to join us."

"Happy to be here." Percy exclaimed. "I actually wanted to apologize to you about earlier."

"Apologize?" Chiron asked.

"What happened?" Annabeth demanded, shooting him a dark look.

Nico frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Percy shrugged. "It just seemed like I upset you earlier. Not sure what I did, exactly, but I felt bad and wanted to apologize."

Nico stared at him for a long moment. "I…. I mean—" He shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. I'm just not happy to be here."

"Why not?" Percy asked.

"Because."

"That's not an answer."

"Do you ever know when to let things go?" Nico demanded.

"I do, but I generally choose to ignore those social cues." Percy broke away from Annabeth and stepped directly into Nico's path. "Besides, if you're going to insist on being miserable and ruining everyone else's good time, you at least owe us an explanation, don't you think?"

Nico stopped walking, unwilling to be any closer to Percy. Annabeth and Chiron stopped too, their eyes locked on Percy with varying degrees of alarm showing in them. Annabeth looked like she wanted to smack him, while Chiron's expression was more a mix of wariness and curiosity.

For his part, Nico was mostly irritated. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I ruining your summer with my sulking?"

"Totally." Percy answered, watching him with a carefully controlled expression. His posture was casual—neither angry nor confrontational, and it clashed with his instigative words.

Still, Nico could feel himself growing angry. "Take it up with Persephone, then. Maybe she'll listen to _you_, the great and legendary Percy Jackson."

"Nico—" Annabeth began.

"Or maybe she'll listen to you," he snapped. "The infinitely wise and patient Annabeth Chase, most famous and successful daughter of Athena in ages. Who could possibly turn you down? Who could possibly say no to you?"

She stared at him, surprised by the outburst. She seemed to have forgotten what she was going to say. Quite an accomplishment.

Nico half-expected Percy to stand up to him for yelling at his girlfriend, but when he turned, he found that Percy hadn't moved an inch. Even his face stayed the same. "Why are you so angry, Nico?" He asked. "Is it really so bad that you've been sent here to spend a summer with us? Your friends?"

"Why do you care?" Nico asked, sound exasperated even to himself. "If I'm making your summer miserable with my attitude, then just ignore me. Really. Leave me alone. I'll be gone before you know it."

"I don't want to ignore you." Percy insisted.

"And I'm not going to let you brood the summer away in your cabin." Chiron reiterated.

"Would it help if we brought Hazel over?" Annabeth asked. "We have a camp exchange program. She could be here by—"

"No." Nico snapped. "I don't want Hazel. I don't want chores. I don't want—I just want—" He ran his hands through his hairs and groaned in frustration. "Never mind. Never mind, I can't do this tonight. I'm exhausted. I just want to go to sleep."

"Well, we've got a sing along to go to." Chiron reminded him. "You can sleep after that."

"Or what?" Nico demanded, already heading off into the shadows, away from where everyone else was drifting. "You'll tie me up again? You'll drag me there? Good luck."

"Nico." Chiron warned, stepping forward.

"Nico, no!" Annabeth, of course, realized what was going to happen before anyone else did, but even she—

"Not this time." Percy said, appearing at Nico's side. He locked eyes with the son of Hades and grabbed his shirt just as the world began to dissolve into shadows and darkness. Chiron shouted something, as did Annabeth, but Percy and Nico were long beyond them now.

Well, relatively speaking.

Nico had been aiming for somewhere in Brooklyn. It wasn't far enough that it'd wipe him out, but it also wasn't close enough that he'd be easy to find. The dense population would help that and decrease the likelihood of monster attacks. He hoped.

But something went wrong. Just as he was really gearing up for the jump, he turned and slammed into something—_hard_. He lost control of the shadow travel and felt himself falling, Percy still clinging to his shirt. The two of them toppled onto a soft patch of grass, both groaning from the unseen impact. Percy rolled, grasping for a better hold on Nico, presumably in case he tried to shadow travel again, but he reached two far and ended up collapsing on top of Nico instead.

"What happened?" He gasped. "Is this—wait, why did you bring us here?"

"I didn't." Nico groaned. He tried to ignore the fact that Percy was lying on top of him. The older demigod didn't seem to notice. "Where are we?"

Percy glanced down at him. "See for yourself."

He shifted so Nico could sit up—keeping a hand wrapped around his arm, just in case. It took a moment for Nico's vision to settle down, but when it did, it didn't take him long to recognize where they were. Behind him, Peleus the dragon slept, peacefully curled around Thalia's tree. In front of him, Camp-Half blood sprawled across countless, gently rolling hills.

"Looks like someone guessed you'd try to escape," Percy laughed. "The boundaries have been reinforced against shadow travel. You're stuck here."


	5. Chapter 5

Nico's ears were ringing.

The camp sing-along was bleeding over into its fifty-sixth minute, and the Stoll brothers, having rested control from the Apollo cabin after the first half hour, were on their third rendition of Smash Mouth's "All Star." Apparently, they believed louder was better, because their voices had been steadily increasing in volume ever since the first verse of the first round.

"Try not to look so miserable!" Percy shouted, punching Nico lightly on the arm. The two were seated together, much to the younger boy's disgruntlement, and Percy seemed to be having a genuinely good time. He'd been in an absolutely stellar mood, actually, ever since discovering Nico's shadow travel didn't work within camp boundaries. He had a cruel sense of humor.

Nico, not wanting to shout to be heard over the jeering and semi-melodious screaming, merely glared and shifted away from Percy. His arms were folded over his chest and he was slouched forward, his form nearly collapsing in on itself. He hadn't been lying earlier when he'd said he wanted to go to bed. Divine transportation, failed shadow travel attempts, and mercilessly long, obnoxiously loud sing-alongs were exhausting.

"I mean it Nico," Percy insisted, leaning closer and lowering his voice to a normal speaking volume. "Cheer up a little. Try singing along. No one can hate Smash Mouth!"

"I don't _know _Smash Mouth," Nico answered. "They were never played in—I've just never heard them before."

"Well they've gone through the lyrics enough times! You must have them memorized by now!"

That was a fair point. If Nico had been paying even the slightest bit of attention to the lyrics, he probably would have learned them by now. It was a moot point, though, because he hadn't been paying attention, and even if he had, there was no way he was going to start singing along.

"How long do these things usually last?" He asked, rubbing his temples and squeezing his eyes shut. "And do they happen _every_ night?"

"Jeez Nico," Percy laughed. "Not that much has changed. You know as well as I do."

The son of Hades frowned, struggling to dredge up memories from the last time he'd been here as a normal camper. Not the son of Hades. Not just a visitor ghosting through and eager to get back to the Underworld. It had literally been years, and his memories were fuzzy, but nonetheless, Nico felt pretty certain the sing-alongs _were_ a daily event, and that they rarely lasted less than twenty minutes.

He swore.

Percy laughed, collapsing beside Nico in the dirt and tapping his hands against the Earth in rhythm with the song. He was singing along, though nearly as loudly as the others, and smiling like an idiot. A happy idiot, true. One who was comfortable and content and surrounded by people he loved and who loved him. Yes, Camp Half-Blood was where Percy belonged.

But Nico?

He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his head on them, folding his arms over his face and glaring at the fire that danced before them. If he belonged anywhere, it was in the Underworld, with his father. That was where his powers were the strongest. That was the climate he'd been bred to endure. Not happy-go-lucky sing-alongs that were so loud, they could easily be causing him hearing damage.

Percy leaned over suddenly—so suddenly, in fact, that Nico wondered if he'd passed out or been knocked over. He caught himself at the last minute though, leaning against his elbow and flashing Nico a blindingly bright smile. He raised his hand and crooked a finger at the son of Hades in a _come hither_ motion.

Nico turned away, forcing his lips to stay positioned in a frown as a blush spread over his cheeks. "Stop it," he muttered.

"Come here."

"Leave me alone."

"But I have something to tell you. A secret."

Nico fidgeted. "Knock it off, Percy." Anger, he could handle. Overenthusiastic and unjustified happiness, no problem.

Flirting? Even the joking, teasing kind?

Nico _really _wanted the sing-along to end.

"Does anyone know any songs by them that _aren't _All Star?" Connor Stoll called, his voice slightly hoarse from all the singing. Slash shouting.

A moment of stillness fell over the campers as they all considered. Then, from somewhere off to Nico's right, one of the Hephaestus kids called back: "Do 'I'm A Believer!'"

This was met with cheers and laughter as the Stoll brothers both broke out into huge, goofy smiles and amped up for what was undoubtedly another ten-minute round of singing. The music itself wasn't so bad. Nico imagined he'd like the original versions, if he actually heard them. They were kind of hard to enjoy, though, when they were being screamed at you, and again, Nico found himself counting the minutes until this little get-together ended.

Travis Stoll was screaming something about a girl's face when Nico caught Percy's movement in his peripheral. It was too quick for him to block, but he did try to dodge it. Percy had been reaching for his arm, but with Nico's shift, ended up getting the collar of his shirt instead. That seemed to work just as well for the son of the sea god. His fingers closer around the fabric, and to Nico's great surprise, he jerked the younger boy closer, keeping a smile on his face despite the serious glint in his eyes.

"Seriously, Nico," He laughed. "You're being stubborn!"

Nico stared at him, unsure how to respond. With a quick glance around the campfire to make sure no one was watching them too closely, Percy leaned closer still, shifting so his mouth was at Nico's ear and he could all but whisper his next words.

"Chiron's been watching you this entire time. After the little shadow-travel stunt you pulled earlier, I'd advise you to watch your back when he's around. He's a nice guy, but he's not going to risk pissing off Persephone just to make you happy, and if he thinks you're not having fun—that you're not even trying—well, let's just say he has a plan, and you do _not _want to see it come to fruition."

Nico sat, frozen, as he processed Percy's words. The older boy leaned back, a smile on his face once again, though there was still a hardness in his eyes that effectively conveyed the severity of his words. Cautiously, Nico dipped his head, letting his bangs fall forward so he could peer through them at Chiron.

The centaur was standing on the other side of the fire, further back from everyone else, and he was so tall that the light barely touched his face. It was difficult to tell where his gaze was focused, but his head was certainly turned in Nico's direction. What expression he wore, Nico couldn't tell.

He didn't exactly need to see it, though. After his failed attempt at shadow travel had dragged him and Percy to the edge of camp after dinner earlier, Chiron—with Annabeth on his back—had come and found them. To say he wasn't happy would've been an understatement, but Nico had largely been spared the old centaur's wrath, thanks to Annabeth and Percy's intervention on his part.

That wouldn't work forever, though. He hadn't been afraid to literally tie Nico up and carry him off to dinner earlier. Who knew what else he might do, if pushed far enough?

Nico dropped his gaze and shifted so he was facing Percy again. "What is this plan, exactly?"

Percy, still smiling, tilted his head back, like he was admiring the stars. "Oh, you know, the usual torture, anguish, and misery."

"Arts and crafts with the Apollo kids?"

At that, Percy laughed. "See? I knew it! You do have a sense of humor!"

Nico's lips twitched. He angled his gaze back towards the fire and resumed his earlier position—knees drawn up, arms wrapped around them. "I'm serious, Percy. What is he going to do?"

"Nothing, if you play by the rules."

Nico grimaced. "I don't know that I can."

"Well, we both know you're not getting out of here anytime soon. You physically can't get past the boundaries, and even if you spend the entire summer hiding in the forest or locked in your cabin, it's not going to help. He's only going to keep you here longer. I suggest you accept your fate with dignity and try to make the best of it."

Nico frowned, reaching down to brush his hand across the ground on which he sat. Several blades of grass died as his fingers touched them. "You're doing an awfully good job of not answering my question."

"That," Percy declared. "Is because I don't want you to know what his plan is, Nico. I believe fear motivates you, and whatever your imagination comes up with in place of actual information is probably ten times scarier than the truth. Ergo, you'll respond better if I leave you to your own devices."

"Ergo, huh?" Nico scoffed. "Fancy word for the son of the sea god."

"Yeah." Percy reached up, arching his back and yawning as he stretched. "Guess Annabeth is starting to wear off on me."

Nico flinched. His mood dropped twenty degrees at the mention of Annabeth's name. She'd been nothing but nice to him since he got here. She'd defended him to Chiron and Mr. D countless times, and she was always coming up with ideas that, she thought, would make Nico's summer more bearable. Contacting Hazel, hanging out with her and Percy, getting him transferred to Camp Jupiter for a week, having him teach sword fighting classes. She seemed to genuinely care about him.

Which made his hatred of her all the more awful.

Connor Stoll leapt across the fire and landed with a powerful thud in front of Nico and Percy, eliciting cheers and applause from the surrounding campers. He was still singing that same song from earlier—this time shouting over and over again about what a 'believer' he was. Nico hadn't really been paying attention to the song in light of this recent news, but from what he could gather, the words were referring to believing in love.

Delightful.

"And you, son of Hades!" Connor shouted while everyone behind him continued the refrain of _I, believe! I, believe!_ "Do _you _believe? Tell me, Nico di Angelo, are _you _a believer?!"

Nico froze. He wasn't a stranger to having all eyes on him—children of Hades tended to elicit stares—but that didn't make it anymore comfortable to suddenly be caught in the Stoll brothers' crosshairs.

From the corner of his eye, Nico caught a flicker of movement. Chiron had shifted to the side so he could see around Connor's form. The fire's light still didn't quite reach his face, but Nico knew without a doubt he was being watched.

Percy nudged his arm, giving him that same, happy-go-lucky smile paired with serious, cautioning eyes. _You've got to at least try, _they seemed to say. _It doesn't matter how it ends up; you just have to try._

Nico turned back to Connor, who was watching him expectantly while everyone swayed and sung all around them.

"Uh, sure." Nico said.

"Sure what?"

"I…believe?" The son of Hades shrugged. "I guess?"

"Are you sure?" Connor demanded. "Because you don't sound sure! Come on, Nico, let us hear it! Tell us you're a believer! Sing it from the rooftops! _Scream _it from the top of your lungs!"

Nico grimaced. "I believe." He tried again, forcing a little more volume and enthusiasm into his voice. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure what he believed in. Love was his best guess, but it could've been anything.

"Shout it!" Connor snapped.

"I believe." Nico sighed, loudly enough that most people could hear. Beside him, Percy laughed.

"And what does that make you?!" Connor demanded.

"A believer." Nico answered. _Or a moron._

"So what are you?!"

"A believer."

"Shout it!"

"A believer!"

"Say 'I'm a believer!'"

"Connor—"

"_Say it!__**"**_

Nico sighed, curling his fingers into fists and letting his nails dig into the flesh of his palms. "I'm a believer! Yay, whoop, big deal—now go get someone else's testimony."

"You don't seem certain!" Connor insisted. "You seem doubtful! There should be no _trace_ of doubt in your mind!" He sang the last part.

"Sure, whatever!" Nico exclaimed. "Whatever you say! Just—"

"I want to hear you sing it!"

"No."

"Then shout it!"

Nico groaned, and Percy nearly collapsed with laughter. He didn't seem at all intimidated by the glare Nico shot him.

"I'm a believer!" Nico snapped. "Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear!"

"Exactly!" Connor jumped back, raising his arms like a preacher addressing the choir. "Hear that, ladies and gentleman! He's a believer! He _believes_!"

"Who is that you believe in?" Travis called from across the fire. "Tell us who it is that has opened your eyes!"

They were playing, Nico knew. Teasing him. But even so, he felt his face turn red—something he hoped the firelight wouldn't show too clearly.

"It's that girl!" Connor declared, beginning to dance around the fire. "The one from the other camp! What's her name? Hansel?"

"Hazel?" Travis called.

"Hazel!" Connor exclaimed. "Hazel has made Nico di Angelo a _believer_ ladies and gentleman!"

"Ew," one of the Aphrodite girls interjected. "She's his sister!"

"Not technically," an Athena kid answered. "I mean, she's the son of Pluto, a completely different being from Hades. Besides, the genetics of the gods and their children really don't work the same as humans, so—"

"She's his sister!" The same Aphrodite girl snapped. "And it's _gross_!"

"Sisterly love is worth believing in!" Travis answered, stepping between the two and offering them both a huge, goofy smile. "You've got to love your family! Especially your siblings! That is, unless your twin's an idiot!"

"I know how that feels!" Connor agreed. "Preach, my brother!"

The two continued to dance and flail and scream for another ten minutes or so, during which time Nico moved as far back into the shadows as he dared with Chiron watching and silently praised the gods that that whole debacle was over.

Percy had only just stopped laughing. He threw Nico a playful smile. "I knew you could do it."

Nico glared at him.

"It wasn't even that bad!"

"Shut it."

"Don't worry!" The son of Poseidon laughed, turning back to the fire. "You've got three whole months to perfect your campfire sing-along skills! It'll be fun, and by the end of the summer, you'll be a pro!"

"Yeah," Nico muttered. "Great."

He had no intention of sticking around for that long, though. His first escape attempt had failed, and though he'd gotten off easy so far, he imagined the repercussions of that stunt were still coming. That just made it all the more vital that he get out now, though, before things got any worse.

And he would get out, Persephone, Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron's wishes be damned. He didn't belong here. It was a nice place, and he was glad it existed for the sake of other demigods, but it wasn't now, nor would it ever be his home.

He especially couldn't live here while Percy was around.

Everyone pretty much left him alone for the rest of the sing-along, probably figuring they'd tortured him enough as it was, and no one—not even Chiron—batted an eye when he got up and disappeared as soon as the event was technically over. He slipped back to his cabin as quickly and quietly as possible and climbed into bed as soon as he had his pajamas on. Persephone hadn't been lying about transporting everything to his room. Even his sword was here.

He spent a good part of the night lying awake, staring at the ceiling, and planning his next move.


	6. Chapter 6

Nico had been working on his escape plan for over a week now, and he was still no closer to getting out of Camp Half-Blood than he'd been on his first day. If anything, he was farther. He'd spend most of his time so far discovering the numerous security measures that had been put in place to keep him within camp borders, and to say that the meticulous attention Chiron and maybe even Mr. D had paid to the details of this matter was disheartening would be a dramatic understatement.

Nico was trudging back to his cabin after a full day at the archery range—"Spend the day with me!" Chiron had said. "I need to keep an eye on you anyway!"—thinking that at least things couldn't get any worse when, of course, they did.

There was a goddess in his cabin.

He stopped a few feet from the door, grimacing as the waves of power coming from within washed over him. Was this Persephone checking up on him? Did she expect him to be happy, tan, and grateful after just over a week here? Would she be mad if he wasn't grateful for his exile?

Nico decided he didn't care. What was the worst she could do—kill him? He might actually welcome that at this point. It would at least get him back into the Underworld.

He pushed forward, throwing the door open and stepping inside with his arms crossed. "Persephone," he announced, deciding he'd take the offensive here. "You need to stop this. I've been here for nine days now, and I still don't—"

Nico froze. It was Persephone standing before him.

"My, my," The woman sitting on his bed turned, smiling as she took in Nico's defensive stance. He immediately dropped his arms and wondered if he should kneel. "Aren't we fired up? Although I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. My presence does tend to bring out people's more…passionate side."

Her eyes glittered, growing particularly bright as she said the word 'passionate.' Nico couldn't quite tell what color they were. Dark brown—almost black—like he'd been told his mother's were? Or a rich, sea green, just like…like….

"Lady Aphrodite." This time, Nico did kneel, bowing his head so he wouldn't have to look at her face anymore. Her skin was a beautiful mix between the Italian, olive color of his family—particularly of his sister—and the deep tan so common here at Camp Half-Blood. Campers spent most of their days outside, so pretty much all of them had a golden hue to them. That particular feature could've been stolen from anyone, really….

Aphrodite laughed—a melodious sound that seemed to lighten the shadows lingering in Nico's cabin. "Oh, what a tribute! To think I should earn such respect you, when not a second ago you were ready to bite the head off my half-sister!"

Nico's eyes widened, but he refused to look up. "Persephone is your half-sister?"

"Depending on who you talk to. Rise, child of Hades. Much as I appreciate your genuflection, it is not what I came here seeking."

Nico really would've preferred to remain kneeling. It meant he didn't have to look at her ever-shifting features; it meant he didn't have to face the accusations that lingered there, caught between the echoes of his family.

But you didn't refuse direct orders from gods—particularly not Olympians—so Nico rose, keeping his head bowed as he did. He hoped she continued to misinterpret his reservation as respect.

"A lovely home you have here," Aphrodite said, rising from the bed and striding around the rest of the cabin. "And all to yourself too! It must be nice to have such a…personalized retreat."

Nico sensed an undercurrent in her words. "My lady, if it makes you uncomfortable to speak here, I would be more than happy to—"

"No, no." She waved him off. "You are sweet, but the ways of my uncle do not disturb me anymore. At least, not as much. Believe it or not, my dear child, we Olympians are working to become more accepting of your father. We are ancient, though. Far older than your mortal mind can imagine. Change takes time and a great deal of effort."

"I understand," Nico murmured. It was a lie of course. He didn't understand anything about this visit. Why Aphrodite's eyes looked green when she spoke to him, why she was giving him this lecture about his dad, why she was here in the first—

"Allow me to cut to the case," Aphrodite said, interrupting Nico's thoughts. "It is my understanding that dear sweet Persephone has sent you here for the entire summer as a sort of punishment."

Nico flinched. "I—I don't know if she was thinking of it as a punishment, per se." It was certainly what Nico saw it was. "She told me she wanted me to have a normal summer, to, uh, spend time away from the Underworld for a while."

"Odd, isn't it? Usually Persephone cares very little for the illegitimate children of her husband. In fact, more often than not, she goes out of her way to get rid of them."

Again, Nico flinched. "Yes. Very strange, my lady."

"Did you never wonder why she chose now to display such kindness? Did you never question why she would suddenly go to such great lengths for your supposed well-being?"

Nico pressed his lips together, carefully considering his answer. Obviously, Aphrodite was leading him somewhere, but he couldn't say exactly where. Unless, of course, she was insinuating that Persephone was trying to 'get rid of' him which seemed unlikely considering she'd dragged him out of the Underworld and sent him to one of the safest demigod refuges on the face of the Earth. She was a goddess, after all. If she really wanted him gone—whatever that meant—she could easily make it happen, even while respecting the rule about direct interference in demigod lives. She could have arranged some sort of teleportation accident. She could've left him to rot in the Underworld forever. She could've hired a hit man.

"Nico."

Aphrodite's voice was like a whip, snapping Nico out of this conspiracy theories and forcing him to look up at her, despite his best efforts. Her hair was a beautiful, midnight black. It tumbled in long, soft waves to just a few inches above her waist.

Nico swallowed. "I'm sorry, my lady. I'm not sure I understand."

Her eyes appraised him, no doubt noting the way he squirmed under her gaze and shied away from her form. When she spoke again, her voice returned to the soft, musical tone it usually had.

"Like I said, many of us Olympians are working to change our perceptions of your father. He proved extremely useful in the last battle for Olympus. Actually, that's an understatement. Without him, we would all be under Kronos' rule right now."

She flashed him a smile, and Nico grimaced, remembering how difficult it had been to convince his father to join the fight for Olympus. The worst part of it had been that Nico understood where his father coming from. He felt certain that, had their roles been reversed, he wouldn't have lifted a finger to save the elitist Olympians who had shunned him so long for no reason. In fact, he would've delighted in their destruction.

"Despite his heroism, though, many still find him difficult to accept," Aphrodite continued. "He can be abrasive, as I'm sure you well know."

"Yeah." Nico sighed. "And apathetic."

"Yes!" Aphrodite's eyes lit up, as if she were happy to have someone to gossip with over the lord of the Underworld, but a moment later, she reigned herself in. "Yes, but my point, brave hero, is that your father still faces much discrimination, and has his child, you, unfortunately, share in that burden."

Nico frowned, glancing away from the goddess as he tried to piece together his thoughts. What had she said earlier? About Persephone? That it was weird how she'd suddenly started caring for him? And now she was warning him that there were still gods and goddesses out there who hated his father and, by extension, him? How were the two connected?

"My lady," Nico spoke slowly, careful in choosing his words. "Forgive me, but…but it sounds like you're insinuating that Persephone—"

"You're thinking two-dimensionally," Aphrodite sighed, shaking her head in frustration. "Ugh, she warned me you wouldn't understand my warning. 'Too early,' she said. 'Not enough pieces on the board yet,' she said. But what good is knowledge of the future if you can't use it?"

She turned to Nico on that last part, as if she expected him to have an answer. Surprised by her sudden attention, Nico sputtered out "Well, um, I don't really know who you mean by 'she,' my lady, but I guess if you use knowledge of the future to change the future, then that sort of negates your knowledge of the future that would've been but now isn't because you used your knowledge of it to change it, thus negating said information's usefulness?"

Aphrodite stared at her, her now perfectly green eyes all but burning into his skin. He'd seen that expression before. That lost, are-you-serious-or-even-speaking-English look. It was a perfect duplication. If he focused solely on her eyes, Nico could almost imagine he was looking at—

"You're in danger, son of Hades."

Nico shook his head. "I, uh, what?"

Aphrodite lowered her chin, staring at him through her dark bangs. Her face shifted, taking on more of an olive skin tone than a tanned one and causing a small shudder to run through Nico's body. "You're in danger. I wish I could tell you more—give you more—but for now, I must obey the rules and limit my interference."

"I—wait." Nico shook his head again, deciding it was safer to look at the wall directly over Aphrodite's left shoulder than at her face. "You said something about Persephone earlier—about how she would go out of her way to get rid of—of demigods like me. Does that have something to do with all of this? Is she the one putting me in danger?"

Aphrodite grimaced—an expression Nico only caught in his peripheral vision. "Persephone is not your father's enemy, but she is not your friend either. The real world isn't always so simple as this camp leads you to think. There isn't always a bad guy and a good guy—a light and a dark side."

"I know that," Nico said. "I've always known that."

"Good." Aphrodite's troubled look vanished, replaced by a blindingly bright smile. "Then perhaps you have a chance."

"A chance?" Nico repeated. "A chance at what? My lady, I don't—"

"I must go," Aphrodite interrupted. "I intend to visit my children before they are called to the pavilion for dinner. We gods should've tried this co-parenting thing a long time! My children are absolutely delightful!"

An image of cupid flashed through Nico's mind, making him flinch. He wanted to say more—to ask more questions, to demand answers—but his hesitation cost him. Aphrodite stepped back, giving him just one more look—one he couldn't decipher—before she began to glow with an agonizingly bright light. Nico spun around, tossing his arm over his eyes as the glow intensified.

"On your guard, son of Hades. Stay on your guard."

The room filled with a last flash of light and then dimmed, returning to its usual, shadowy state. Nico fell back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor, his eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness around him. A few seconds later, he heard a cacophony of delighted screams echo to him from farther down the row of cabins, indicating that Aphrodite had found her children.

He'd been certain, when he first returned to the cabin, that it had been Persephone waiting for him, ready to check up on and chastise him for not being actively involved in camp activities. Now that he thought about it, though, that made no sense. She hadn't tried to contact him, Mr. D, or Chiron—to his knowledge—sense exiling him. Why would she choose now to pop in? And why would she come to him for answers when she knew he would only lie to her face?

Why had she sent him here in the first place? Nico had always sort of bristled at the "you need to be a regular kid for one summer" explanation, but now that Aphrodite had pointed it out, he could no longer ignore just how little sense it made. Persephone didn't like him. Maybe she didn't hate him, and he certainly didn't think her aversion was strong enough for her to want to kill him, but….

But what else could Aphrodite have meant? Why would she start questioning him about Persephone's motives only to segue into warning him about all his supposed enemies?

It didn't make sense, and the more he sat there, trying to puzzle it out, the more confused he got. Why Aphrodite, of all people? What did she want with him? Was this all a ruse on her part? Was she was the one who had a problem with Hades and wanted Nico to suffer for it? Was this all some misdirection? And what had she meant when she mentioned 'she'—the she who'd apparently known Nico wouldn't understand the love goddess's 'warnings'? Why would—

"Nico?"

The son of Hades jumped away from the wall, blending easily into the shadows that lingered in every corner of his cabin as the door was pushed open. His fingers wrapped instinctively around the hilt of his blade—which Persephone, or someone, had finally been kind enough to return to him—while his mind continued to spin. If this was Chiron threatening to tie him up and drag him to dinner again, so help him Hades, he would—

"Nico?"

Annabeth peaked around the edge of the door, frowning at the still, silent cabin that greeted her. Her sharp gray eyes scanned the room for signs of life, but they slipped right over Nico's still form. She was on his turf now. Her special baseball cap meant next to nothing in the realm of the king of invisibility himself.

"Nico?" She called again, pushing the door further open. There was a troubled look on her face—one that was rapidly evolving into something else. "Oh gods, Nico please. Please tell me you're here."

Nico remained quiet. He took a certain pleasure in denying Annabeth what she wanted, even though he knew how petty and wrong that was, but he also didn't have time to be dragged into camp shenanigans right now. He needed to be alone. He needed to think.

"Oh gods," she muttered again. Then, she turned and called over her shoulder. "Chiron! Chiron, he's gone!"

Oops.

Nico briefly considered stepping forward and stopping her—surrendering himself before Chiron could get too angry—but his body refused to move. Something inside his head was telling him to stay hidden; to let this scene play out.

Actually, he realized, that 'something' in his head sounded a lot like Aphrodite's voice.

_Be still, be still. Just a few more moments…._

He shuddered, but Annabeth was too far gone to notice now. They both listened as the sound of hooves—presumably Chiron—drew closer. The door to the cabin flew open the rest of the way and the old centaur peered inside, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the space before him.

"It smells like Nico," he huffed.

"It's his cabin," Annabeth pointed out.

"Yes, but this smells fresh."

"Maybe he came to pack a getaway bag," Annabeth said. She sounded like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Gods, Chiron, you know what Rachel said. You know that if he's out there, he's—"

"I wouldn't panic yet," Chiron interrupted, giving Annabeth a stern but still kind look of reassurance. "Even if he has escaped, Mr. di Angelo is no amateur demigod, subject to the appetite of whatever monster comes across him first. He's an experienced fighter and a child of Hades. Far from defenseless."

"Yes, but he'll be easier to find than anyone else!" Annabeth insisted. "Children of the big three, they—"

"Speak of the devil."

_Be still, _Aphrodite's voice whispered.

Chiron and Annabeth both turned. Chiron's eyes—if possible—grew even more troubled at whatever he saw behind them, but Annabeth looked relieved. Nico didn't need to see past them to guess what was there. He'd heard the voice. He figured he'd recognize it anywhere.

"So, he's not in there?"

Annabeth turned as Percy Jackson's silhouette appeared in the doorway, scanning the room once again with her gray eyes. "No, and we have no idea how he got out, but…"

She continued on her semi-hysteric rant, touching on every possible breach in security, every possible escape route he might've taken. Some small part of Nico's mind made note of everything she was saying for later, but the majority of his attention was focused on Percy's gaze—

And the fact that Percy was looking right at him.

Everyone's eyes—even Chiron's—had drifted right over him, wrapped in shadows as he was. He may not have been wearing his father's helm of darkness, but he felt confident he was as good as invisible to most onlookers, especially here, in his own cabin. Percy, though, flickered right to him, as if he were standing in a spotlight rather than kneeling in a dark corner, all dressed in black.

"Uh, guys?" Percy said, a small smile tugging at his lips. Nico glared back.

"We have to organize a search party," Annabeth was saying. "We can have some satyrs go along—they should be able to smell him. We'll alert Persephone too."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Chiron sighed. "I'm not sure we can—"

"Guys," Percy reiterated, a little more forcefully this time. His gaze stayed locked on Nico, and he strode forward, causing both Chiron and Annabeth to fall silent as they watched him.

"No search party necessary," The son of the sea god laughed. He walked up, fell onto the floor right beside Nico, and threw an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, pulling him into a half-hug and continuing to laugh at the strangled noises Nico was making. With that, it was like some sort of spell had been broken. Both Chiron and Annabeth's eyes widened in shock.

"See, he didn't run off," Percy teased. He turned his head and locked eyes with Nico, tightening his grip around the younger boy's shoulders. "He can't. He's still stuck right here."


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I apologize for how long this took; hopefully, the time between installments will never again be so long that the site actually logs me out and forgets my password... Thanks for sticking with it, all of you who have.

* * *

><p>"Does he look different to you?"<p>

Annabeth glanced up from where she'd been pulling blades of grass out of the ground, her eyes narrowing as she followed Percy's gaze to a spot about fifty feet away. At first, she thought he was just staring at one of the camp's new oak trees— "gifts" from the Demeter kids, all far larger than they should be after just two years of existence—but after a few seconds, her eyes adjusted, and the slim, hunched form of Nico di Angelo came into focus, cloaked in shadows and statuqesue in its stillness.

She cocked her head to the side, considering Percy's question. Nico had been at camp with them for well over a week now, yet Annabeth had never really stopped to look at him. The fact that he was here, that he was safe, was all she needed; there were plenty of other, more pressing matters occupying her mind.

But now that she took the time to really examine him, she decided he did look different. Taller, obviously, and thinner. It was obvious even with him sitting on the ground, hunched over what appeared to be a book. His skin seemed paler though, which was a strange look for someone with his olive complexion. The biggest difference though—

"His hair."

Percy glanced at her, his lips twitching. "His _hair_?"

Annabeth nodded. "His hair is shorter. Neater. It's like he finally learned how to style it. Or at least brush it."

Percy's eyes flickered back to the younger boy, honing in on him easily,. Annabeth had to focus for a few seconds to find him every time she looked away, as if he were temporarily disappearing between glances. She figured she should probably be used to it by now—especially after the disappearing act he'd pulled in his cabin the other day—but she wasn't. Not knowing where he was at any given minute still gave her a mini heart attack.

"I guess it is neater," Percy agreed. "I was talking mostly about his clothes, though. He isn't dressed quite so…."

"Depressingly?" Annabeth asked.

Percy grimaced. "I guess that's the word. It just seems like he's grown into himself, you kow? He actually has a style now—a style that's not just 'black and too big.'"

At that, Annabeth laughed. "I almost forgot he used to dress like that. It's been so long."

She turned her gaze back to the younger demigod, again struggling for a moment to bring him into focus, despite knowing exactly where he was. He looked at ease—more so than she'd ever seen him. If he sensed that he was being watched, he wasn't showing it.

"His clothes are still dark," Annabeth noted, again tilting her head to the side as she considered the boy. "But you're right: they fit a little better now, and they don't have skulls on them or anything."

"He looks like an artist," Percy decided. "Like one of those people you see writing in coffee shops or something."

"I don't know if I'd go that far."

Percy stood then, jumping to his feet in one easy, fluid motion. His gaze was still locked on Nico, and when he started to walk forward—as if he were going to approach the younger boy—Annabeth reached out to stop him.

"What are you doing?" She tried to grab his arm but thought better of it at the last minute and simply let her hand hover between them, a cautioning gesture. "You can't interrupt him."

"Why not?" Percy asked. "He's only reading."

Annabeth scoffed. "_Only_ reading. Percy, leave him alone. He's enjoying himself for once. Let him have this time."

"Chiron said he needs to be more social," Percy insisted. "Reading alone under a tree isn't social."

"Maybe not, but at least it's normal," Annabeth answered. "As long as he's not locked away in his cabin plotting escape attempts, I'm happy."

"I just want to talk to him," Percy said. "Maybe see if he wants to hang out. You know, go do something that's actually fun."

A small spark of irritation lit inside of Annabeth—one that was neither suprising not entirely expected. She'd been feeling this way for a long time, but even after everything that had happened, she wasn't entirely used to the resentment that sometimes burned in her. Percy's jokes, his smiles, his general distaste for and dismissal of everything she loved—she'd used to find it amusing, even endearing, but now it was just annoying.

"Leave him alone," she sighed, sitting back and letting her hand drop. "He doesn't want to be bothered right now."

"You don't know that."

"_Percy._"

For the first time in their conversation, Percy looked at her. Really looked at her—not just a cursory glance before turning his eyes quickly back towards Nico. He seemed both surprised and unsuprised by the frustration in her voice, mirroring her own feelings about the emotions. Neither of them knew exactly when things had started to fall apart between them, nor when the final straw had actually snapped, but the when didn't really matter. What mattered was that it'd happened. It was _still_ happening.

Annabeth sighed, dropping her eyes to the ground and pulling out more blades of grass. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Percy watched her. "I thought we were going to try to be friends."

"We are. Trying, I mean. I just don't want you going over there and upsetting him." Cautiously, she glanced up again, frowning as she searched for Nico's form. "This is the first time he's willingly left his cabin, and he looks so content right now—I just don't want anything ruining that."

"You think I'd ruin it?" Percy asked. He sounded somewhere between hurt and confused, and his eyes were on Nico again.

Annabeth pressed her lips together, deciding it was probably best for her not to answer that. Instead, she stood, gathering up the pile of notebooks and pencils she'd brought out here with her a few hours ago. She couldn't even really remember what she'd been intending to do.

"Just let him be," she said. "He's going to be here all summer—and longer, if we have anything to say about it. You're going to get plenty of time with him."

She wasn't sure if Percy heard her—he seemed totally focused on Nico now, almost unaware of her presence.

Suppressing a grimace, Annabeth pressed her notebooks to her chest and turned, heading back towards her cabin and wondering along the way just when she'd become so invisible to Percy Jackson.

"Ah! Ha! Yah!"

Nico di Angelo suppressed a smile, glaring down at the book in his lap and deciding once again to return to the top of the page he'd been trying to read for the last hour. He could get through the first paragraph well enough, but somewhere in the middle of the second, his attention began to drift. His eyes would still drink in the words, but they wouldn't register in his brain, and soon, he'd find he'd finished an entire chapter without having the slightest idea what he'd just read.

* * *

><p>"It's hopeless," Nico announced, shaking his head.<p>

Below him, near the edge of the sword-fighting arena, Percy Jackson glanced up, sweat dripping down his face and a thousand-watt smile on his face. He shook his head a little, like a dog and spun his sword around in his hand—a move Nico couldn't even begin to comprehend, as it seemed to defy the laws of physics.

"What's hopeless?" Percy asked, coming to lean against the five-foot wall that seperated the ground floor seats from the arena. Nico sat a few benches back, his legs crossed beneath him and his book balanced precariously on his left knee.

"Reading," Nico answered, still working to keep his expression neutral.

"I agree," Percy laughed. "You shouldn't do it! Even when I'm in school, I usually don't."

Nico shook his head. "I meant around you, Jackson. You make too much noise. It's distracting."

"Yeah, well you're distracting too," Percy teased, wiping some of the sweater from his face with a towel.

Nico arched an eyebrow. "I so highly doubt that. I don't _do_ anything."

"You don't have to. You're an über power demigod that just sits there in my periphery, waiting to attack. It is extremely disruptive to my intense training regimen."

Rolling his eyes, Nico answered "You're the one who invited me to come with you—and I use that term loosely."

"Invited?" Percy smiled. "Oh please. You could've sat around in your cabin all day, brooding and _reading_ if you'd wanted to. I wasn't going to drag you out." The smile grew. "Who do you think I am? Chiron?"

"_That_," Nico declared. "Was not funny."

"Yes it was."

"Alright, then how about next time _you _get tied up and carted off against your will?"

"Been there," Percy dug his sword into the ground and leaned against the hilt—a precarious position that was bound to give and send him tumbling to the ground at any moment. "Done that. It's exciting. Gets your adrenaline going."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Percy Jackson gets high off being tied up, folks. There's your traumatizing news update for the day."

"Why don't you come down here?" Percy laughed, jerking his head back towards the arena. "Spar with me a little."

"I prefer verbal sparring."

"Because you know I can kick your—"

"Percy," Nico interrupted. "It's ninety-eight degrees outside. I'm wearing street clothes—dark ones, at that. I'm not going to risk heat stroke just to put your ego in place; Hades knows that's an uphill battle."

"Never stopped Sisyphus," Percy answered, shrugging.

Nico widened his eyes, feigning shock. "Did Percy Jackson just make an educated allusion to ancient Greek mythology? Shock, ladies and gentleman."

"I've got to know that stuff; it's in the blood."

"I think you're secretly a reader," Nico answered, focusing his gaze back on his book, even though he knew it was useless. If he couldn't pay attention when Percy was practicing, he certainly couldn't do it while Percy was talking to him.

Percy pulled Riptide out of the soil and leveled it at Nico's chest—a movement that might've been more intimidating if there weren't at least fifteen feet of space between them. "Take that back, di Angelo!"

"You're a reader," Nico droned, idly flipping the pages of his book in an attempt to distract Percy from the smile that had broken out on his face. "I've bet you got an entire library's worth of books stashed under your bed."

"Blasphemy!" Percy cried. "Slander!"

"Big words for a non-reader. You're really not helping your own case, Jackson."

Percy laughed and—in a move that sent a shot of adrenaline through even Nico's veins—leapt up onto the wall that seperated the arena's floor from the seats. It was an impressive height, even for someone as tall as Percy, but the wall was thin, and Percy's didn't have much surface area on which to find his balance. If he fell backwards, that wouldn't really be a problem. It'd probably serve him right actually. If he fell forward, though….

"Take up arms, son of Hades!" Percy cried, thrusting Riptide forward. If he felt any fear over his dangerous perch, he didn't show it. He was all smiles and taunting.

"Percy," Nico clapped his book shut and set it down beside him, rising to his feet and crossing his arms over his chest in what he hoped was a stern manner. "Get down from there. You're going to hurt yourself. Or die."

"Take up your sword," Percy insisted, enunciating each word.

"No." Nico answered. "Not until you get down."

"Okay!"

Percy smiled and stepped back, lithely and easily falling to the ground. His knees bent beneath him, perfectl absorbing the impact. He straightened up and twirled Riptide around his hand again, making Nico frown.

"Show-off."

"Come on then," Percy said. "I got down. Not get your sword."

"I told you, I'm not going to risk heat stroke for some stupid—"

"Coward!" Cried Percy. He jumped forward again, this time clearing the wall rather than landing on top of it. Within seconds, he'd closed the distance between them, leaving Nico's battle reflexes a miniscule amonut of time to kick in.

It was enough, though, for someone as experienced as Nico di Angelo, and by the time Percy reached him, his sword—which he'd had subtly encased in a sheath on his back—was in his hand, the black, Stygian metal glinting in the sunlight. He held it out before him, intending only to block whatever move Percy tried. He'd meant it when he said he had no interest in risking heat stroke for this game.

But to his surprise, Percy didn't go for him. Instead, he lunged to the side. At first, Nico thought he was feinting—trying to get Nico to shift so he could attack from the other direction—and as a result, Nico remained where he was, blade held out in front of him.

Percy wasn't feinting, though. He lunged to the side, his sword held loosely out to guard his side as he reached forward—

And snatched up Nico's book.

By the time Nico registered what was happening, Percy had already danced away, making his way up the rows of benches that lined the arena with the book in one hand and his sword in the other.

"Jackson!" Nico called.

"You want your book back?" Percy called, laughing as he moved even further away. "Come get it!"

"I'm not going to chase you all over this—" Nico flinched as Percy jumped from one bench to another, crossing an entire aisle in the process. It was a long distance to cover, and as high up as he was, one slip could be dangerous.

"Percy!" Nico called, unconciously beginning to trail after him. He chose a much simpler, safer route that allowed him to keep pace with the older boy without risking his neck—literally.

"Oh, and the chase begins!" Percy laughed.

He dashed forward until he was about twenty five feet ahead of Nico, at which point he made a sharp turn and started sprinting down the benches instead of across them. Nico made it to the nearest aisle and followed him, moving as quickly as he could while still minding his steps.

Percy leapt back onto the arena floor and began sprinting over to where his backpack, towel, and water bottle lay. Nico followed, much preferring to run across flat ground than through the uneven stands. He was shorter than Percy—though not nearly as much as he'd once been—so his stride wasn't as long, but his smaller size gave him a speed the older boy couldn't quite manage with his more muscular frame, and Nico was a mere ten feet away when Percy spun around to face him.

"See?" Percy laughed. "I knew I could get you to play."

Nico huffed, wanting to cross his arms, but unwilling to put his sword down, lest there be any surprise attacks. "Come on, Jackson. We all know that's not what you were doing?"

"Oh?" Percy asked, a mischevious glint in his eyes. "Do tell."

"You just want my book," Nico explained. "Another addition to your secret, shameful collection."

Percy laughed outright at that, throwing his head back in the process. Nico briefly considered attempting a sneak attack and stealing the book back before too much damange could be done to it, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Percy Jackson wasn't _that_ stupid.

"Ah, this is fun," Percy sighed. "But if you want your book back—because seriously, I have no need of it—then you're going to have to fight me for it." He glanced behind him just long enough toss the book into the pile of his other belongings then turned back, taking up a defensive stance in front of them.

There was an obviously playful air about him—it showed in the way he moved, the way he held his sword, and even in the way he watched Nico, not as one might watch an enemy or evena sparring opponent, but as something far more casual. A friend, maybe. There was a curiosity in his eyes, and mixed with it was an obvious sense of amusement.

Nico dropped his gaze, wishing his hair was still long enough that he could use it to hide his smile. The thought of his old hair brought a memory back to him, though—one that was just as effective in getting rid of his smile.

"Whatever you say, Jackson," Nico muttered, affecting an almost haughty air as he raised his chin and met Percy's eyes. "We all know the truth. Your girlfriend's made a regular bookworm out of you."

Percy's smile flickered a little, something much darker than anything he'd seen so far today—so far this summer—flashing through his eyes. He straightened a little, but the playful air hadn't entirely disappeared from him yet.

"You mean Annabeth?" He asked.

Nico snorted. "What other girlfriend could I be referring to? Did you start dating Clarisse while I was gone?"

"Ew." Percy shook his head. "Don't even joke about that, man."

Nico waved him off. "If you say so. Your dating life is no business of mine."

"Are we going to talk or fight? Don't you want your book back?"

He did, but the thought of Annabeth seemed to overshadow that desire. He shrugged, feigning indifference. "You can keep it. I'm sure she'll get far more out of it than I ever could. Though it is written in Italian."

That gave Percy pause. "You can read Italian?"

Nico rolled his eyes again. "I'm done here, Jackson. Keep the book."

"You're just going to walk away?!"

Nico turned and began moving towards the arena's exit. "Yep."

"Come back here and fight, you coward!"

"No." Nico reached back and slipped his sword into the sheath that was still on his back. It was a fancy little trick he'd honed during his time in the underworld—and that had required a lot of accidental shoulder-stabbing before mastery. The things to which boredom could drive people.

Suddenly, Percy appeared in front of him. Nico jerked himself to a halt, resisting the urge to jump back like the older demigod was some sort of monster. He hadn't heard him move.

"Come on," Percy taunted. "Even you can't walk away from a direct challenge."

"Sure I can," Nico answered. "I, unlike some of us, am secure enough in my masculinity and sword mastery that I don't need childish playground fights to validate them."

"Oh, a sharp tongue, but not a sharp blade," Percy laughed.

Nico glanced at him. It was clear that Percy didn't understand the catalyst behind his mood swing, but he wasn't unaware of it, and he was trying to reverse whatever he'd done with more light-hearted taunting.

A small, surprising spark of sympathy lit within Nico, and he sighed.

"You know, I may not dress in 'black and too big' clothes anymore, but this stuff is still hot." He tugged at the gray thermal shirt he was wearing, figuring he didn't need to point out his jeans for Percy to know what bad fighting clothes they were—especially in heat like this.

Percy's smile fell away completely then. "What are you…. Oh." Understanding dawned on his face. "You heard us yesterday."

Nico glanced away, shrugging. "It was hard not to. You two aren't exactly quiet."

"We were fifty feet away!"

"Tell me about it."

Percy frowned. "Right. I mean, I'm sorry, then. I—we—didn't realize you could hear us."

Nico shook his head. "You don't actually need to apologize. I'm not angry." It wasn't like they'd said anything particularly offensive, or even untrue, really. And anyway, Nico was used to being talked about by the other campers, Percy and Annabeth included.

"Well, if you heard all that, I guess you heard the other stuff too."

Nico glanced over. "Other stuff?"

"Yeah…." Percy grimaced. "Between me and Annabeth?"

That got Nico's attention, though he worked very hard to maintain a look of polite disinterest. "I didn't hear anything about you too. I tuned you out once I realized you were just going to be talking about my clothes and my hair the entire time."

That seemed to surprise Percy. "I thought you couldn't tune me out?"

"Not when you're hacking away at training dummies ten feet in front of me," Nico answered, resisting the urge to roll his eyes yet again. "But fifty feet away? With a good book? When you're talking about boring stuff? It's a little easier then."

"You shouldn't have been able to hear us at all," Percy insisted, shaking his head.

"Well, I could."

Silence fell between them. Nico waited for Percy to keep talking—to explain what he'd meant by "between me and Annabeth," but the older demigod said nothing. He was too wrapped up in studying Nico, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he stared at him. Nico wasn't sure which was more interesting—Percy's apparent fascination, or this potential gossip about him and Annabeth.

"Is…is everything alright?" He prodded. "Between you and Annabeth, I mean?"

Percy blinked. "Maybe if you hadn't disappeared for two years, you'd know that."

Ouch. Nico frowned and opened his mouth to respond—though some part of him knew Percy hadn't really meant it as an insult, so much as a lamentation of the younger boy's absence—but he never got the chance. Just as he was about to speak, the sound of hooves made both of them freeze.

Percy turned just in time to see Chiron canter into the arena, Annabeth at his side. He smiled at the two demigods, seeming genuinely pleased to find Nico out and socializing for once.

"Dinner, boys!" He declared, clapping his hands together. "I hope you're hungry!"

Nico and Percy glanced at one another, the wasted potential of whatever conversation they'd just been on the verge of having lingering between them like electric tremors after getting zapped by lighting—something with which Percy was, unfortunately, familiar.

"We're coming," Percy answered. "Just got to…got to get my stuff."

"Do you need help?" Nico asked. It was a question that surprised everyone. That he'd agreed to spend the day with Percy in the arena seemed strange enough, but now he was offering to help him? To willingly and intentionally engage with him—and alone, no less!

Percy met his gaze, lowering his chin slightly and looking at Nico through his lashes. "No, that's alright. I've got it. You go ahead."

His expression said it all, though. Now wasn't the time. Clearly, they needed to talk—to catch up—but that conversation couldn't be condensed into a few minutes, nor should it be. They'd find a time, later.

Nico nodded, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to. Percy turned away before he could worry too much, though, and Nico was left with no choice but to follow Chiron and Annabeth out of the arena.

The entire walk to the dining pavilion, Nico's eyes stayed on Annabeth, as if he could pull her and Percy's secrets out of her head if he just focused hard enough. He didn't know when he'd get a chance to talk to Percy, but however soon it was, it wasn't soon enough.


End file.
